White teeth have long been considered cosmetically desirable. Unfortunately, teeth become almost invariably discolored in the absence of intervention. The tooth structures which are generally responsible for presenting a stained appearance are enamel, dentin, and the acquired pellicle. Tooth enamel is predominantly formed from inorganic material, mostly in the form of hydroxyapatite crystals and further contains approximately 5% organic material primarily in the form of collagen. In contrast, dentin is composed of about 20% protein including collagen, the balance consisting of inorganic material, predominantly hydroxyapatite crystals, similar to that found in enamel. The acquired pellicle is a proteinaceous layer on the surface of tooth enamel which reforms rapidly after an intensive tooth cleaning.
Staining of teeth results from extrinsic and/or intrinsic staining. Extrinsic staining of the acquired pellicle arises as a result of compounds such as tannins and polyphenolic compounds which become trapped in and tightly bound to the proteinaceous layer on the surface of the teeth. This type of staining can usually be removed by mechanical methods of tooth cleaning. In contrast, intrinsic staining occurs when staining compounds penetrate the enamel and even the dentin or arise from sources within the tooth. This type of staining is not amenable to mechanical methods of tooth cleaning and chemical methods are required.
Consequently, tooth-bleaching compositions generally fall into two categories: (1) gels, pastes, or liquids, including toothpastes that are mechanically agitated at the stained tooth surface in order to affect tooth stain removal through abrasive erosion of stained acquired pellicle; and (2) gels, pastes, or liquids that accomplish the tooth-bleaching effect by a chemical process while in contact with the stained tooth surface for a specified period, after which the formulation is removed. In some cases, the mechanical process is supplemented by an auxiliary chemical process which may be oxidative or enzymatic.
The majority of professionally-monitored at-home tooth-bleaching compositions act by oxidation. These compositions are dispensed directly to a patient for use in a custom-made tooth-bleaching tray, held in place in the mouth for contact times of greater than about 60 minutes, and sometimes as long as 8 to 12 hours. The slow rate of bleaching is in large part, the consequence of formulations that are developed to maintain stability of the oxidizing composition. The most commonly used oxidative compositions contain the hydrogen peroxide precursor carbamide peroxide which is mixed with an anhydrous or low-water content, hygroscopic viscous carrier containing glycerine and/or propylene glycol and/or polyethylene glycol. When contacted by water, carbamide peroxide dissociates into urea and hydrogen peroxide. Associated with the slow rate of bleaching in the hygroscopic carrier, the currently available tooth-bleaching compositions cause tooth sensitization in over 50% of patients. Tooth sensitivity is believed to result from the movement of fluid through the dentinal tubes toward nerve endings in the tooth. This movement is enhanced by the carriers for the carbamide peroxide. In fact, it has been determined that glycerine, propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol can each give rise to varying amounts of tooth sensitivity following exposure of the teeth to heat, cold, overly sweet substances, and other causative agents.
Prolonged exposure of teeth to bleaching compositions, as practiced at present, has a number of adverse effects in addition to that of tooth sensitivity. These include: solubilization of calcium from the enamel layer at a pH less than 5.5 with associated demineralization; penetration of the intact enamel and dentin by the bleaching agents, so as to reach the pulp chamber of a vital tooth thereby risking damage to pulpal tissue; and dilution of the bleaching compositions with saliva with resulting leaching from the dental tray and subsequent digestion.
The stability of existing formulations of hydrogen peroxide-containing tooth-bleaching compositions in terms of shelf-life as well as over the period of use in the mouth, depends, in general, on an acidic pH. The hydrogen peroxide becomes markedly less stable as the pH increases. Indeed, Frysh, et al. Journal of Esthetic Dentistry Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 130–133, 1995) described the use of high concentration (35%) of hydrogen peroxide solutions at an initial alkaline pH, which was required to be formulated immediately before use and was administered in the form of a liquid to extracted teeth to achieve tooth bleaching. Phillips and Bowles (IADR Abstract J. Dent.res 75, 1996) have demonstrated that hydrogen peroxide penetrates the enamel of extracted teeth less readily over a 15 minute period at pH 9.0 than at pH 4.5. Carbamide peroxide compositions have been formulated at a pH of 5.0–6.5 using hygroscopic carriers and maintaining a low water content. This type of formulation is problematic with regard to enhanced tooth sensitivity. On contact with saliva, the water content of the formulation increases, causing the carbamide to disassociate into urea and hydrogen peroxide and the pH to be decreased. In fact, the equilibrium pH of a 10% carbamide peroxide solution is approximately 3.45 and a typical commercially-available tooth-bleaching gel with 10% carbamide peroxide when combined with saliva in a 1:1 weight ratio has an initial pH of 5.6 and gradually decreases to pH 4.8 after 8 hours.
Thus, currently available tooth-bleaching compositions that rely on hydrogen peroxide as oxidizing agents, all release hydrogen peroxide from precursors at low pH levels despite the low rates of tooth-bleaching activity.
There is a need for a home use tooth-bleaching product that is stable, easy to use, and rapid-acting that utilizes reduced amounts of hydrogen peroxide and is capable of administration to a patient by means of a dental tray. There is a further need for a tooth-bleaching composition that may reduce hard and soft tissue irritation, tooth sensitivity, and bleaching composition ingestion to further increase patient compliance.